I flew in to Hungary a few days ago and I seem to have arrived at the perfect time, because the cherry trees are loaded with gorgeous crisp cherries. Watermelons, raspberries and strawberries are all also in season which makes me even happier.

I’m spending the first couple of days with family at my sister’s home in a small town near Budapest, mostly eating and beating the jet-leg.

I asked my mom and dad to bring my two favorite cheeses, Burduf and Telemea from Romania as well as some Kabanos sausage when they came to pick me up from the airport in Budapest. I've been eating that with fresh tomatoes and peppers from my sister's in-laws' garden for the last couple of days. I love everything about the Eastern European cuisine, even though I can't eat as much as I used to while I lived there. Although delicious, Eastern European food is very heavy and filling. If you're following me on Instagram you've seen what I'm talking about. If you're not yet, now it's the right time to start doing it.

Hungarians and Romanians seem to be on a reverse eating pattern than Americans. Here we eat more for breakfast, less for lunch and even less for dinner. Typical breakfasts consist of amazing cured meats, sausages, liver pâté and boiled eggs served with freshly slices onions, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, loafs of fresh crusty bread and lots of cheeses. It's heaven on earth!

One thing that’s missing in our cuisine is seafood, although freshwater fish dishes aren't rare at all. The Hungarian Halászlé (Fisherman's Soup), Harcsapaprikás (Catfish Paprikash) and the Romanian Grilled Trout and Grilled Zander are just a few of the most famous ones. I plan on posting recipes for all these here in the future.

Most saltwater fish are frozen, and not as fresh as in other parts of the world. You can find frozen salmon, cod, and other fish, but shrimps, crabs or lobsters are very difficult to come by. I ate shrimp for the first time when I studied in Virginia during college. I loved its sweet and briny flavor as well as its firm and crisp texture.

I came up with this recipe when I made Cucumber and Avocado Gazpacho for a few friends that we had over for dinner. I wanted to surprise (impress) them with something that they most likely haven't had before and I needed a protein to accompany the creamy and sweet gazpacho. It turned out great and the dinner was a huge success. It also makes for a great appetizer or party snack on its own.

I usually store the pickled shrimp in mason jars in the refrigerator where they will keep for a long time. I love to eat the pickled onions and garlic, too. Enjoy!

PIckled Shrimp

Yields 8 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Inactive time: 1 day

Ingredients

Boiling mixture

1 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 cups water
3 bay leaves
4 cloves, whole
1 tsp coriander seeds, whole or ground
1 tsp red chili flakes, dried
1 tsp mustard seeds, whole
2 cardamom seeds, whole
1 tsp black peppercorns, whole
2 tsp salt

1 cup ice
2 cups water
1 1/2 pound shrimp (16/20 count size), peeled and deveined

Pickling mixture

1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup apple cider
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, halved
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp peppercorns, whole
1 tsp red chili flakes, dried
2 tsp salt

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan combine all the boiling mixture ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Pour hot liquid over shrimps and keep them in the marinade until they turn pink around 3-4 minutes. Remove them with a sieve from the hot liquid and drop them in an ice-bath (1 cup ice, 2 cups water). Make sure you don't keep the shrimp in the hot liquid for more than 4 minutes, because it will overcook.
Remove the shrimp from the iced water. Peel and devein if you didn't do it at the beginning.
In a 24 oz mason jar combine all the ingredients for pickling mixture. Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously until all the ingredients are well combined. Add shrimp to the mason jar, put the lid on and refrigerate for at least a whole day.

NOTES

Serve with olive oil and smoked paprika sprinkled on top. Pickled shrimp goes really well with the Cucumber and Avocado Gazpacho that I posted not long ago. It keeps for weeks in the fridge sealed in a mason jar.